O'Neill team returns for North Coast Rep's 'Moon'

Back in 2001, a group of San Diego actors and a director
gathered to produce one of the classics in American theater --
Eugene O'Neill's "A Long Day's Journey Into Night." The show,
produced at the Lyceum Theatre, was a critical success and an
experience those involved would remember for a long time.

So consider North Coast Repertory Theatre's production of
O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" a sort of reunion. It stars
Jonathan McMurtry and Karla Kash, is designed by Marty Burnett and
directed by David Ellenstein -- many members of that original
creative team (under the auspices of the Renaissance Theatre
Company).

"We all had such a great experience on 'Long Day's Journey,' "
said Ellenstein, now artistic director at North Coast Rep. "In
fact, that show had a lot to do with how I ended up at NCRT. George
Flint (the producer) and Rosina Reynolds (an actress in the show)
pushed me for this job."

"A Moon for the Misbegotten" is a quasi-sequel to "Long Day's
Journey Into Night" (the semiautobiographical 1953 Pulitzer
Prize-winning play about the dysfunctional Tyrone family). "Moon"
follows the character of Jamie (O'Neill's alter ego), now a drunken
mess who is bored with the world and everything in it. Then along
comes Josie Hogan, a frumpish woman who wants to give him comfort
during his last days. At last, these two people have a final chance
at love and happiness if they are wise enough to take it.

"This isn't exactly a sequel," said Ellenstein. "It just happens
to follow the character of Jamie to the next stage -- a stage where
he is haunted by his brother's passing."

The play holds a dear spot in Ellenstein's heart. At age 19, he
saw Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurt tackle the roles at the
Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles (the pair recaptured their roles in
a film version).

"I was quite taken with the play," he said. "I've been a fan of
O'Neill for a long time. My father (actor Robert Ellenstein) did a
few O'Neills when I was growing up. O'Neill is not always the
biggest audience-pleaser, but it's always great theater. He was the
first serious American playwright, paving the way for Arthur Miller
and Tennessee Williams."

In "Long Day's Journey," McMurtry played the father, James
Tyrone. But in "Moon," the father is long dead. So he plays Hogan,
the man who leases the farm to Josie and her family. Kash, who
played the maid in "Long Day's Journey," now slips into the role of
Josie. David Anthony Smith plays Jamie.

"David has the size and technique to pull off the part," said
Ellenstein, "especially in the monster of a third act."

The tragedy is reserved for that act, but the first act is quite
funny, with witty banter between the characters.

"The second act is about flawed people who understand that
ghosts we carry from the past can cripple you if you don't move
forward," he said. "It's about catharsis and love. It's funny,
powerful and moving -- it's everything a great play should
have."

That's what makes Ellenstein so excited to once again gather the
people who worked on "Long Day's Journey" together.

"I want people to see this show and feel a little bit more
alive," he said. "To see that there's always hope. The play has
such a wide range of emotions. It's an emotional journey but it's
also literate, making the brain work as well."